


Regrets

by SemperAeternumQue



Series: Pyren Brothers AU [2]
Category: Keeper of the Lost Cities Series - Shannon Messenger
Genre: Angst, Canon Compliant, Gen, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, I will never stop tagging my kotlc fics with that, I'm Sorry, No beta we die like Kenric, Sad, Sophie and Alden are there for like 0.5 seconds at the end, The Author Regrets Nothing, The Pyren Brothers AU, another one of the Very Painful Snippets, bronte gets mentioned a ton but he doesn't actually show up, i feel like i owe y'all an apology at this point, takes place during Exile, very sad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-28
Updated: 2020-02-28
Packaged: 2021-02-27 22:40:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 466
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22943437
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SemperAeternumQue/pseuds/SemperAeternumQue
Summary: The night before his mind is set to be broken, Fintan writes a letter and reflects on his regrets.
Series: Pyren Brothers AU [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1648879
Comments: 6
Kudos: 13





	Regrets

**Author's Note:**

> Another of the Very Painful Snippets™, which I am still in the process of importing from Tumblr. This one takes place during Exile, directly before Sophie and Alden do the memory break. It's also a particular favorite of mine, despite not being my best work, simply because of the angst involved. 
> 
> Have fun!

Fintan Pyren does not regret many things.  
He does not regret joining the Neverseen or leading it.  
He does not regret using his ability to harm, rather than to help.  
He does not regret refusing to tell the Council anything.

He does not regret that he will have his mind broken.  
He does regret who will have to order the shattering.

There are not many things that Fintan Pyren regrets, but that does not mean he has no regrets.  
He regrets the look on Bronte’s face as he half-begged Fintan to cooperate.  
He regrets the tears he thought he saw in his brother’s eyes as Fintan refused again and again.  
He regrets the betrayal and the hurt written in every part of his brother, hidden from most but obvious to Fintan, who could always read Bronte like an open book.  
He regrets the vote that Bronte will cast, the decision he will be forced to make.

So Fintan picks up the pen, places it on the paper they allowed him, and writes. There are no words to say what needs to be said, but he will try.

The words come easily, once he begins. Pages upon pages of writing. Tales of a childhood now long-gone, memories of younger, happier times. Apologies and denials. Explanations and refusals. No lies. He writes what is in his head, what is true. He lays down on paper the truth of him, every facet of the gemstone he would be, every flickering flame in the blaze of his spirit. Bronte deserves that at least, for tomorrow he will lose a brother. Perhaps he has already lost one, for Fintan ceased to be truly his brother the day he first lied to Bronte about his involvement with the Neverseen.

Regardless of if he is already lost, Fintan can no longer be the brother he used to be, the brother Bronte needed (and still needs), and soon Fintan will be as good as dead. So he offers for a poor replacement this ink on paper, and he hopes it will be enough. (It won’t be. It can never be what Fintan was. But it will be enough to hold Bronte together for a little while longer, and that’s good enough for Fintan. It has to be.)

He writes through the night, refusing to lose a single moment before his mind will be shattered forever. His words fill page after page, and soon before the Council’s telepath is set to arrive, Fintan writes three final words.

_I love you._

When Sophie and Alden arrive, he will face them with no fear. He is not afraid. He does not regret. His only regret now is that he will never see his brother again.

_I’m sorry, Bronte. I can’t be the brother you loved any longer._

**Author's Note:**

> ....
> 
> Oops?
> 
> I have no excuses, this was fully intended to hurt.


End file.
